1st Century Art

My work sets out to merge the principles of graphic design with the critical eye and tools of fine art practices in order to communicate with the viewer to the fullest extent. I do this by bringing pop culture and advertising into the world of fine art. During my lifetime, I have experienced the influence of advertising creep into private decisions and taint memories of my past, linking enjoyable childhood pastimes to less important brands and slogans of that time. I grew up seemingly in need for the best brands of clothes, best way to cut your hair, and the best toys to have in order to fit into society, always knowing what they were even if I didn't own them or have enough money to do so. I remember being enthralled with Batman and considering my Batman hoodies an absolute necessity, contributing to my personal stature. I remember purchasing T shirts and sweatshirts with various Batman insignia and wished I could afford to buy every one manufactured. Not sure why I identified with a superhero, but it was all just part of my messed up view of my own self esteem.I realize that this is crazy now, but I believe the need for material possessions as a path of contentment has been ingrained in my way of life for so long, that on now as an adult am I beginning to realize its effect. It has warped my perspective, and I feel exploited. My art explores themes regarding child manipulation and socioeconomic influence on children within the field of graphic design through advertising. I do this by creating life-size installations, which bring the viewer in direct confrontation with the logos and propaganda that have crept into everyday activities in our culture. This makes it possible to position the viewer in a reflective state regarding the child, and to engage the viewer in an internal conversation about the situation.

Andrea Gianchiglia, graduate from Hartford Art School, majored in illustration and minored in art history. She currently resides in her hometown, Bedminster, NJ teaching at various art associations and museums. Many of her pieces are commissioned by private collectors, or are commercially produced for business clients. She specializes in pet portraiture but enjoys to paint creatures such as faeries and angels, but in a new, nontraditional context.

We are bombarded on a daily and even hourly basis with image after image telling us what to wear, how to act, and how our bodies should and shouldn’t look. There seems to be no escape from our society’s absurd expectations and unhealthy body images. Shows like Dr. 90210 and other reality television have taken over our lives and remind women and men alike that we are never good enough. The strive for individuality seems to be a thing of the past as we are pressured to imitate mainstream culture. We allow our little girls to dress up like their favorite scantily clad celebrity and encourage our young boys to be “pimps” and “players.”

This series of digital photographs shows the absurdity of mainstream culture through imitation and mockery. I have made exaggerated references to advertisements, popular celebrities and 1950’s style pin-ups. Each scene is carefully and thoughtfully constructed. Sometimes conscious hints are left in the image to make the construction visible to the viewer. Although I use myself in these images, these photographs should not be seen as self portraits, but rather my criticism of society. Not only should you laugh at these images but you should also stop and think about how mainstream culture has been allowed to creep into your own life.

I was born on Valentines Day, thirty seven years ago, in Augsburg-Bavaria, Germany. I am an self educated artist who paints with passion and steadily growing enthusiasm. In daily life I am a graduate technical engineer and leading employees in an international enterprise. At the beginning the art became my balance but since that time developed itself to an important part of my life. I started paiiting about three years ago. My artistically talent accompanied me all my life, but it took a long time before it broke out. My favourite methods in painting are acrylics, oil and watercolour. The motives I like most are abstract, nude, portrait, flowers and landscape. I am a versatile painter, always going through a process of development. Because of having "fans“ for each style it is really difficult for me to appoint myself on one so far.

My artistic goal is to bridge the gap between the temporal and the ethereal realms by interpreting visually what can only be characterized as an intuitive rhythm. The immaterial is the conduit with which I intend to evoke a deep introspective posture that is sometimes elusive within the constraints of modern society. My purpose is a singular encounter with each composition.

In the pursuit of artistic mastery, the realization of one’s own contribution to the celebration of life, these paintings are a collage framed in intellectual and emotional interpretations of experiences transfigured through physical gestation, manifesting in contrast and composition. Drawings are a personal exercise to master the tonal undulations of light cascading over recognizable volumes of space, capturing an individual moment in time by means of the most simplistic of mediums; pencil and paper.

My artwork is semi-abstract - Landscapes full of repetitive pattern and exploding with color. I am driven by exploring

the endless possibilities of form found in natural landscape. Pattern, whether in nature or art, relies upon three characteristics: a unit, repetition, and a system of organization. I developed a unique technique of using layered magazine & painted paper which I cut into mosaic like forms and paste onto hardboard. Through I work quite deliberately, and consciously, the repetitive cutting and pasting frees my imagination and provides many opportunities for natural progression and movement in the finished product. Color is important in my art to expose the mood and lighting of the world that exists in my imagination. For me, color is the language I use to communicate the splendor I see. By using colored paper, I am able to achieve exciting and complex color combinations through layering, which would not be possible with tile or glass.

I am an individual that has just discovered his inner creative self. I have had no formal training. Born in 1977 in Broken Bow, Nebraska I have had the privilege of global travel to gain a unique prospective on the world as a whole. This set of pictures does not represent a demonic expression. They were painted to represent the current status of religion in American today. Many struggle with the realism of religion. Is it true or not? Fact or Myth? This set of pictures represents the struggle as a society and as individuals.

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The Artists

Fred German, BFA

Artist’s Statement

In the pursuit of artistic mastery, the realization of one’s own contribution to the celebration of life, these paintings are a collage framed in intellectual and emotional interpretations of experiences transfigured through physical gestation, manifesting in contrast and composition. Drawings are a personal exercise to master the tonal undulations of light cascading over recognizable volumes of space, capturing an individual moment in time by means of the most simplistic of mediums; pencil and paper.

Artist’s Biography

I have been driven to render as early as I can recall. My artistic fascination began when I first learned how to draw the alphabet. I took my first commission at the age of ten and through the years of my development I have shown my work in galleries and sold to private collectors.

In May 1988 I received my Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Virginia Commonwealth University. My emphasis was painting and print making. While at VCU I had the distinct honor to study under two men whom I considered to be living Masters: James Bradford (now deceased) and Milo Russell. To this day I am influenced by their teachings and can only hope to obtain their level of mastery in my lifetime.

I was one of the founding members of VIM; an art group established in Richmond, Virginia during the late 1980’s. We were dedicated to the promotion of art and without being bound by external limitations. This premise allowed for the truest expression of art.

Artistic Style

My art is about my self-indulgent enjoyment and the subjects I choose are those I deem important. My style is very loose, gestural, and is often a marriage of abstract and representational elements. The non-objective aspects of my compositions are equally as important as the figures in the positive space, making each piece a totality of these two components. In an effort to reduce linear qualities in my paintings I under paint the tonal structures in acrylics and overlay with fields of oil color.

Donna German, AFA

Artist's Statement

My artistic goal is to bridge the gap between the temporal and the ethereal realms by interpreting visually what can only be characterized as an intuitive rhythm. The immaterial is the conduit with which I intend to evoke a deep introspective posture that is sometimes elusive within the constraints of modern society. My purpose is a singular encounter with each composition.

Artist's Biography

I originate from Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, though I have called Virginia my home for most of my life. The Northern Virginia area lent experience to the years of my youth. After which I attended Old Dominion University, Virginia Commonwealth University and 1994 I was awarded an Associates in Fine Arts, Summa cum Laude, from Tidewater Community College. It was my experience at TCC that I believe was an integral part of facilitating my desire to define my talents.

After leaving the Tidewater Area I relocated to Richmond, Virginia where I continued to develop my individual artistic style. I consider my brief stay in Richmond to be very transitional and enlightening time. In early 1996 I left Richmond, took a short hiatus to explore the Southwest and returned to Virginia. Since that time I have called The Shenandoah Valley my home.

Artistic Style

My contemporary paintings are primarily non-representational, very organic and free flowing. I generally work with acrylic paint, but I frequently mix media to achieve different textures and effects. I use many layers of paint and textures to give the illusion of a third dimension in a two-dimensional space. Color is essential! The teachings of Johannes Itten command my attention. However, more than any other modern master, the artistic theories of Wassily Kandinski have been influential. Kandisnki’s had three major painting styles. Using his model I am able to classify my own work: My Improvisations are entirely intuitive; color and form dictate and evolve each piece as a dynamic entity. My Compositional pieces take shape in my mind’s eye before my brush strokes the canvas. Lastly my Impressional pieces are more abstracted and whimsical.

Inspiration for many of my paintings comes from a myriad of sources. Music is paramount and a basic necessity for me personally. Frequently, my paintings are interpretations of ideas that come from literary sources. The topics generally range from philosophy, to psychology and mysticism. I often look into the debasing of the human unconscious. I seek to uncover what lies beneath our cognitive mind and why primordial knowledge is becoming increasingly inaccessible in our modern era. I am also irrevocably drawn to biological processes, so science is an important fundamental in my art and frequently the shapes in my paintings bear a striking resemblance of biological forms.

"There is nothing on earth so curious for beauty or so absorbent of it, as a soul. For that reason few mortal souls withstand the leadership of a soul which gives to them beauty." ~Maeterlinck, De la beaute interieure.